Oxymoron
by MarlenaDiamond
Summary: "You – I know you better than you think, cuero. Stop feeling responsible for my shit. It is what happens on my island. You'll learn. Your friends are dead. There's just you left, you and me on this island." Vaas/OC. Strong language, angst and violence.
1. Come to burn your kingdom down

**NOTES:** I havent't written anything in a while and I was majorly inspired by MelissaCanFlyy's Far Cry 3 and Tomb Raider Crossover called 'Dystopia' - you can find it here on - to write a story about Vaas Montenegro, as he is the most interesting game character I've seen in a long time. This is just the start of the story, I already have some more saved on my computer and I will update the story every now and then.

While writing, I was listening to Florence + The Machine, mainly their song 'Seven Devils'.

**Part 1 - "See I've come to burn your kingdom down"**

Derek heard it first. I believe it was the roar of a car, the clicking of weapons being readied and equipped that he heard while most of us were obliviously sleeping. It must have been about 3 am when he silently got out of his bed and wandered around the house to wake me and the people sharing my room. By then it had also been headlights he'd seen, voices he'd heard. They were coming for us. It happened pretty fast. In a second, all around us the air was filled with the screams of our fellow people and laughter of the enemies. We had planned to get out the back doors, but they were already stationed everywhere, ready to invade the peace we had built up.  
As one of the only ones who had some combat experience, I instantly grabbed a kitchen knife and tried to violently get the heavily armed and armored men to let go of the innocent members of our group. I sped out the door, already having to climb over the dead bodies of friends, people I had known for years that have had their life taken away by one or two bullets in an instant. Outside, more men dragged unconscious, injured people into the numerous vehicles parked on the grass. In a rage of anger, I readied my makeshift weapon and stabbed the sharp, bold blade into one of the intruders' shoulder to make him let go of one of my friends, Maggie. She fell to the floor, revealing an enormous wound on her chest. Focusing on the tumbling enemy again, I started to hit him in the face with my fists until he sank to the ground, then ran over to Maggie, who gasped for air and held her ribcage with one arm. I tried to lift her up and sustain her to be able to flee into the forest, but it was so loud around us that I didn't hear two men approach behind me. The second I turned around, one of them hauled off and hit my head with his pistol. I fell to my knees, trying to stay awake, but everything around me was turning. One of the intruders grabbed my chin and lifted my head up so that I was looking directly at his ugly face. "You a tough one, huh?" he said before smashing his huge fist into my temple.

"Emilia, yes? Hey!" A voice was pounding in my head, but I could not open my eyes. I was in incredible pain, and the left side of my face felt wet. "Emilia", there was the voice again. "Listen to me! Don't you dare ignore me you little shit!" Something hard hit my leg and a sharp pain struck my whole body. I forced my lids to open up just a bit, so I could see what was going on around me, as I was completely disoriented. All I could barely see was a pair of men's trousers and heavy shoes on dirty ground, all in a haze of red whatever and tilted over to the side. I must've lain on my side somewhere on the ground. As the voice progressed to insult me, I could feel my conscience fading again, and I fell back into a void.

The next time I woke up, I still felt horrible, but I could at least make out some of my surroundings, even though I didn't recognize them. I was leaning against the bars of a metal cage, similar to the ones that you would keep animals in. Around it, all I could see was trees and the dirty, sandy ground. It was nighttime, but I could not see the sky, as it was hidden behind the thick leaves and brushes. Next to me, on the ground, there was Maggie's injured body and another friend, Jon. He was awake.  
"Jon?" I muttered, still feeling incredibly dizzy. My head hurt like crazy. "Oh gosh, thank you, you are awake!" Jon exclaimed, hovering over to me to give me a big hug. I rested my head against his shoulder for a second and breathed heavily.  
When he let me go, I looked into his scared eyes. "What about Maggie?" - "She has been unconscious for what felt like forever. Just like you"  
I leaned back onto the bars and held my head. It felt like my face was covered with dry blood, and by the touch of my temple, I could feel an enormous laceration. I tried not to freak out at the thought of how I got this, of what happened back at the house. I slowly turned around. "Where are the others?"  
Jon shook his head. "I don't know. They've been taken. Or… or…" – "Look, we have to get out of here", I said, desperately trying to think of a way out of this.  
"Oh yeah?" That was another voice from behind us. It was one of the intruders, the pirates, the criminals that ruled over this island using slavery and drugs, plain violence and terror.  
I looked at him and instantly remembered him. It was the one that had hit me into unconsciousness.  
"Remember me? Huh?" He looked at me through the thick bars. At the sight of my facial expression, he began to laugh. His dirty laugh disgusted me, it reminded me of when all the enemies had the rampage around our camp. I gathered some spit in my mouth and spit it right into his face.  
The pirate's face instantly turned red of anger. "Fuck you!" He stood up, got out a key, unlocked the cage door, grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the cage. Smashing the door shut, he began kicking and hitting me, even harder than he had the first time. My body curled up and all I could do was squeal in pain. I heard Jon yelling from inside the cage. The wheezes of exhaustion the criminal let out and the sound his heavy shoes and fists made when touching my injured body.


	2. Tension and torture

**NOTES:** Vaas comes into the picture in this chapter, and I am having so much fun with his character.  
Caution, I used strong language in this.

Florence + The Machine - "Remain Nameless", "Breath Of Life"; Lana Del Rey - "Off To The Races"

**Part 2 - Tension and torture**

"Hey! Hey, hermano, what the fuck do you think you're doing there! Huh?!" A piercing voice, full of anger, exuding authority, one that I hadn't heard before, came into the picture. The man hitting me hesitated, his hits and kicks stopped. My body cringed with pain, and I could barely breathe.  
"Why do you think you can just go around and fucking slaughter _my_ fucking hostages?" – "Vaas, this is the one that -" A dull bash was to be heard, and the man landed on the ground next to me. "Stay away from them, amigo!"  
The stranger – Vaas – approached me. His steps were lighter than the other men's, but just the sound of his voice had me shivering, and the fact that he could beat down a heavy man like that with just one hit prove enormous strength. He crouched down to me, so that I could make out his appearance and, most importantly, his face through my blurry vision.  
"Seniorita, everything alright? Yes? Eventhough it was a rough welcome, I hope you will have a pleasant stay here at my camp. I am Vaas, your host." he said with a hint of mocking in his voice. "Pleased to meet you" Unable to answer him, I only stared into his face. As I had already assumed, he had very muscular arms that were covered in tattoos and he wore a mohawk.  
"Not very talkative, huh? I get that. I get it." Without hesitation, the pirate lifted me up in his arms and carried me back into the cage. Jon was sitting back in the corner of the cage, his face full of horror. Vaas laid me down cautiously, then looked at Jon. "You know…" He started yelling. "I don't like the way you are fucking looking at me, hermano!" In an instant, the pirate-leader was on his feet and hit the metal cage just above Jon's head. The whole construction was shaking. "There's a reason why I am the one with the fucking balls around here! You're my hostages. You're _mine_. Fucking act like it! Get well soon, seniorita. Bye, bye." He turned around and went to lock the cage, waved at us with an ironic smile and left us alone again, the other pirate on his heels.  
As soon as Vaas had left, Jon came over to me and rolled me around, so that I lay on my back. "Breathe deeply, Emilia" he said, and I could tell that he was struggling not to sound as horrified as he was. I, myself, was horrified aswell, I could not blame him. The appearance of the creature that was Vaas was imprinted onto my mind, his voice was still in my ear. I could not tell if I hadn't been able to answer his question because I'd been in so much pain or because I was paralyzed at the sight of him. His plain appearance, the way he spoke, instantly sent goose bumps down my spine, he'd been so much scarier and more powerful than every one of the other pirates. Yes, there was a reason he was the one with the balls.  
"Don't move" Vaas, Vaas, Vaas. I didn't even feel much pain as Jon checked my body for any broken bones or major injuries. Why had he stopped the man from beating me to death? What was his intention? His calm, almost caring voice when he'd picked her up almost had her thinking he was better than them – but he seemed to be completely volatile, yelling at them a moment after almost whispering to her. One thing was for sure – he didn't save her just out of good intentions or sympathy for her. He had a plan.  
"I can't tell, maybe some of your ribs are broken, Em.", Jon said softly. "You need a medic."  
I shook my head. "I am fine." I said, lifting my arms up to my face and folding them over my eyes. Silently, I let a few tears run from them. This was a nightmare. How would I get out of it?

This night, I barely slept. Everytime I was close to falling asleep, Vaas' voice came back to my ear: "You're _mine_". He haunted me the whole night and I kept thinking about how such a monstrous person could be so scary and fascinating at the same time.  
The next morning, Maggie was awake. She was considerably fine, but the wound on her chest was deep. As for me, lots of hematomas covered my body and every move hurt. Luckily, it didn't seem like any ribs were broken, at least that pain eased a bit. Around noon, two pirates made their way to the cage we were kept in. They held a plate of rice, which served as our dish for the day. As Maggie and Jon were eating, the two men camped outside the bars, smoking cigarettes and gossiping. I couldn't bring myself to at something, eventhough I should've been starving. It was just the thought of what happened and what would happen and I would have rather starved myself to death than to die from the hand of one of those criminals. "You not eating, little firecracker?" Instead of an answer, I stared right in the pirate's face. "Well, you'll die either way. I don't really care for how" With a laugh he picked up the plate and the two of them took off.  
"You need to eat!" Maggie was worried; I could see it in her eyes. "I know what I'm doing." – "Well, I certainly hope so." She placed a hand on top of mine. "We need you, now more than ever. You know that, right?" – "Yes" I answered, even though I didn't see how I could be helpful for them in a situation like this. There was no way out – all we could hope for was a quick death. I had lost hope, now that I had seen what the pirates were capable of. I was not scared of death. Maggie smiled at me softly.  
In the afternoon, I just had managed to get a little bit of sleep off a nap, I was awoken by Maggie and Jon hovering around in the cage. I opened my eyes and instantly saw the fear in their eyes. As I raised my head to see what they were so horrified by, I spotted Vaas making his way over to us. It was the first time that I _really_ got to see him. He wasn't as much of a gorilla as the other pirates were. His body was well-formed, abs just peeking through his red top, his biceps noticeably showing. I just now noticed the large scar on his head. And the enormous knife in his hand.  
"Hello hermanos!" he exclaimed as he approached. "You" – he looked directly at me – "I need to have a word with you, cuero." I kept looking at the ground. I wanted to seem unapproachable, as I knew he wanted me to eat the food they gave me. But I wasn't going to do that. It was my way of rebellion. Of dying my way.  
"Would you mind looking at me?" Vaas' voice was rising. When I didn't do as he wanted, he continued: "Look me in the eyes, you fuck! You do as I say! What do you think I am, seniorita? Someone to play around with? … Okay. Okay, I understand you. You don't want to eat. Want to die, huh? What a good choice, a good way to die. Huh!? Yeah, you like that. Amigos!" He waved at the couple of guys standing aside, that I hadn't noticed until now. One of them opened up the lock that separated us from the world, and the men started to grab my friends and drag them out of the cage. Vaas now was in it, right in front of me, not giving me any time to react or even get up. The pirate's leader crouched down to me and using quick moves, he placed his hunting knife to my throat. I was now looking directly into his eyes. "Now, cuero, I can end this right here, right now for you. Are you not thankful that I saved your life last night? No?" He flicked his tongue and began running the knife up and down my throat. "You want to play games with me. Huh? I know what hurts you, seniorita, you are vulnerable to me." Now, with his other hand, he began caressing the side of my face that hurt the most, the side that the flesh wound was on. It wasn't as strong of a touch that it would hurt a lot, but just as much so that it slowly began to open up. Outside of the cage, the men were still holding on to my friends, waiting for the next orders Vaas was going to give them.  
Again, I was paralyzed; I could not move, nor could I speak. Vaas was now whispering: "Amiga, don't try and play games with me. Just a friendly advice. You do as I say, nobody is going to die here."  
I gathered all my pride and all the strength I had and dared to try and push his arms off of me, but as quickly as I did my move, Vaas already had my wrists in his hands, pressing both of them to the metal bars behind me. He was yelling again. "You'll fucking _learn _then, trust me! Fuck, you will learn!"

He got up, left the cage and started locking it behind him. "Bring the hostages into the camp", he ordered. I was on my feet. "No!"  
Vaas blew me a kiss and turned to leave. "No, stop! Vaas! Jon, Maggie! Vaas, come back! No! Vaas, please! Do not hurt my friends! You will pay for this!" But as an answer, I only heard his cracking laughter leaving.  
I screamed Vaas' name a couple more times before I realized it would not get me anywhere. He was gone, and even if he could still hear me, it would not have any impact on him. I had to wait until he came back. I felt uneasy and could barely sleep through the rest of the day and the night. What would the pirates do to my friends? Was it because of my rebellion that they now probably were tortured? Were they punished? Vaas had been right. He knew how to hurt me, where I was vulnerable. If you hurt my loved ones. I still thought about the leader of the pirates a lot. What he did was horrible – he was a monster. It was obvious for everyone to see. I didn't want to admit it, but that was not the main reason he still haunted me; his appearance had some other impact on me, even though I had only seen him twice – his touch, the way he had caressed me, I still felt a burn where his hands were yesterday. His touch was dangerous, exciting. I was lusting for the enemy.  
The next day I ate the food they gave me. I thought maybe that would change their mood towards me and they'd bring my friends back or even let them go, but the guard's facial expression didn't give a hint.


	3. You can be my last regret

**NOTES & REFERENCES:** The title is a quote from Natalia Kills' song "Nothing Lasts Forever".  
Apparently, "cuero" means leather in Spanish. Haha! The dictionary-website I learned that word from suggested this: el cuero (Lat. Amer.: Hond., Méx.) [col.] – the beautiful woman. Sorry! Dang, I just don't speak Spanish :p I won't change it. Let's just pretend Vaas speaks a very colloquial, latin american Spanish.  
I included a little sexy time! Woohooo! I don't think I ever had so much fun with writing fan fiction. Welcome me to the Vaas-Lovers.  
Shout out to **DecoDevolution** for kindly reviewing! Thank you!

**Part 3 - "Kiss me like the world will end, pull that shirt, I pull the shades, you can be my last regret"**

It was already getting dark on the second day of me being alone in the cage. I had tried yelling again and it had exhausted me, I felt like I was going crazy. "I heard you scream my name out here, cuero. I liked that." I flinched at hearing Vaas' voice behind me and turned around. There he was, sitting outside the metal bars, playing with his gun. At first it took my speech, but I gathered the courage to say something. "Don't think too much of it."  
A light chuckle was to be heard. "I see you obey me now. Good. That's good. I like that, aswell, little seniorita. You had enough of being alone out here? Huh? I thought so, too. Must be very lonesome for you. Fucking sucks being alone, huh, seniorita? Does it?" While speaking, he slowly stood up and opened the cage door, running his fingers along the metal. I surveyed him approaching, his eyes fixed on mine, him sitting down next to me, now running his fingers along my leg, which sent a tingle through my body. He came closer, until his lips were right beside my ear. I held my breath as he spoke. "Thought about why you're so alone? Huh? What am I gonna do with you, cuero?" I felt Vaas' hot breath on my neck, his lips just centimeters away from touching my skin. He placed his hand on my thigh. The sexual tension that build up had me wanting him even more than before. I could not speak. "What am I gonna do to you? What is my fucking desire? What's yours? _Emilia_" It was the first time he ever said my name. I did not even know he knew it. I placed my hand on his, pressing it onto my thigh and panted. I could feel Vaas smiling at my neck, as he grabbed onto my leg harder. "Emilia. Cuero, I know you don't like being my hostage. What am I gonna do? Come with me"  
In an instant, he was on his feet, leaving me breathless on the ground. I slowly got up, and the pirate pulled out his gun and placed it to my head. He pressed me to leave the cage and led me through the forest to a small village, without saying a single word. I didn't dare to speak, either. I was still breathless, and filled with lust from before. Walking still hurt, as my whole body was bruised and covered in flesh wounds.

When we reached the camp, I already knew something was planned out. Lots of pirates were gathered, all facing something they formed a kind of half-circle around. As we approached, I could see what they all were looking at: six young, European hostages, lined up in a row, all beat up and bruised, covered in blood, some of them unconscious. Brad, Laura. Derek. Jon and Maggie. My friends. "Emilia!" Maggie yelled as soon as she spotted me. Her face was completely deformed and bloody. Vaas led me to them and lined me up. "I decided what we're going to do with our little hostages here!" he said triumphantly, and some of the men around us cheered. "You know, we don't like new kids on the island, so –" - "Let us go!" It was Derek. Vaas turned around and started yelling. "You fuck! I showed you authority! I warned you, you little piece of shit, so now shut the fuck up while I'm talking, yes? Shut the fuck up!" He pulled out his gun, stepped over to Derek and hit him in the face. My friend's head flew back. I stared at the pirate.  
"Emilia!" Vaas turned on his heel and faced me. He chuckled. "Emilia, what's wrong? Why are you looking at me like this?" He placed is hands on the wall behind me, so that his strong arms framed my face. "Cuero, what is it?" I looked directly into his eyes and could see a spark of lust being brought back. Without hesitating and thinking it over, I leaned forward, grabbed the back of his neck and stared kissing him. My torn lips and his hot ones fit perfectly onto one another. We kissed for what felt like a second, although it must have been quite a while. He had taken control over the kiss and made it passionate, almost violent. Then, he freed his lips from my kiss, took his hands to my shoulders and pushed me away. Quickly, he pulled out his gun and before I could scream "No!", he had shot Derek, Jon and two of the others of my friends in the head. He continued, as I looked into Maggie's horrified face. She was faced with the death of Jon and the others, has had to witness me kissing the man that tortured and killed them and was now facing her own death that was going to come inevitably. All I saw in her face was disappointment. Then a bullet hit her forehead and her lifeless body sank to the ground. It was quiet in the camp for a second, then, I let out a horrified scream. Tears ran down my face as I looked around and saw all of my friends' lifeless, injured bodies. And I saw Vaas, standing in midst of the scene, eyeing me. My feet started running toward him, my fists clenched, and I started punching him in the chest, still screaming. "You monster! You don't deserve to live! Vaas, you horrible creature!" But once again, his hands quickly clasped around my arms and suppressed my attack. "Shh, hush, cuero! Hush. Calm down, amiga!" I lost my power to fight Vaas' attempt to tranquillize me and let myself sink to the floor, lie next to all of my murdered friends. I looked up. "Kill me! What are you waiting for! Kill me, Vaas, you monster, shoot me now, end it here!" I yelled at him. "Come on!" But he just turned around and left the stage.

After the horrible show, I was violently dragged into a little house, well, more of a shed. It only contained of one room that had a bed and a shelf with some books in it. I was paralyzed, I could not cry, nor could I scream. I could only stare out the tiny window.  
I was lying on the bed, my back facing the door, when I heard it open. "I really hope you are here to take my life, Vaas, just let me die" I murmured.  
He chuckled softly. "You are not a hostage anymore, you are free to go. Go and fucking die in the fucking jungle, nobody here gives a shit about you, cuero." I heard his fist hitting the thin wall.  
"What, you want me to go?" I asked. Now he was by my side, turned me to lie on my back and pinned me to the bed. I stared into his eyes. "Do I look like I fucking care? Go on, seniorita. Leave. But you will never leave this island. It is _my_ fucking island. It will devour you." He loosened his grip on me and turned to leave. "You think, cuero. Anyway, it would be a shame to waste you like that. Ta-ta. Bye, bye" Vaas always left as abruptly as he came. There was no making him stay, no getting him to leave. Everything was under his control. It disgusted me, but my lust for him had not faded a bit. He took everything that I have had – including my sanity. Now that I was the only one of us left, all I could hold onto was him. He was dangerous and he still scared me. But as crazy as he was – he hadn't hurt me in the slightest way yet. I still wanted him, and tried to forget about how I was betraying my dead friends, how Vaas had brutally killed them without hesitating. If I wanted to live, I had to go with my instincts. He was security, security of the jungle and the other pirates, and eventhough what he did to other people every day disgusted me, I wanted him for the way he treated me. For him whispering my name, his touch that made me shiver and his kiss – he allured me in a way I could not describe. I wanted the danger, the excitement, the enormous passion. I wanted the villain.

Later this evening, I went out looking for Vaas. It was deep into the night actually, I guessed around 3 am, but it wasn't too long ago when I heard his crackling laughter from somewhere around the area I was in. I passed a small campfire, newly lit, and stopped. I looked around, and as I turned, I saw him standing in the door of one of the houses. His chest was exposed as he wore no shirt, and I could clearly see all of his defined muscles. He began to smirk at the sight of me. "Got lost, cuero?"  
"I was looking for you.", I brought myself to say. His smirk got bigger. "Peek-a-boo" he said quietly. "My turn." Startled at the sight of his flawless body, I didn't answer. As usual, he knew what I was thinking. "Like what you see, yes?" The spark in his eyes had me assuming he had the same idea in his head as I did. I stepped forward, approaching him. As soon as I was within reach, the pirate grabbed me and pulled me as close as he possibly could, pushed me against the doorframe and started kissing me, starting off where we had left earlier that day. As I was touching the fine contours of his muscles, his hands ran along my legs and hips, up to my breasts. Vaas knew exactly where to touch me. He moved on to kissing my neck and I could feel the stubbles of his beard on my skin, and I grasped onto his back, my fingernails scratching his bare skin. With just one move, Vaas had ripped apart my shirt, exposing two huge, slowly healing wounds and countless hematomas. He stroked my face softly with one hand while the other was snapping my bra open in an instant. I gasped for air, fingering at his belt, no time to loose. We moved into the house and he slammed the door shut.


	4. Oh, wherefore art thou, Vaas?

**NOTES & REFERENCES: **I am so, so happy you guys like it so far! Thanks to **Nix (Guest)**,** mmm-kaitlyn** and** AmberAnarchy888** for reviewing. Your comments fill me with warmth :D

After the romance, I needed to include a bit more violence, bring Vaas back! Also, a surprising turn of the plot.. or is it?  
Let me know how you like the violent Vaas. Too much? Or just enough?

The title is a reference to "Oh, wherefore art thou, Juliet?" from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

**Part 4 - Oh, wherefore art thou, Vaas?**

"Azúcar. Good morning! Wake up!" It was Vaas' voice that woke me up the next morning, followed by his signature chuckle. "Get up, seniorita!"

Still lying in his bed, naked, on the hardest mattress I had ever slept on, I rolled over to face him. Fully dressed - sadly -, he leaned against the table and smirked at me. So last night had not been a dream. For a brief moment, I had considered that it all just had been imagination, a fantasy. But it had been real. I joined in on his smile. "Good morning."  
He walked over to me and started a kiss. I grabbed his shirt and tried pulling him closer, in hopes of maybe refreshing last night's experience, but Vaas held back and clicked his tongue mockingly at me. "Well, well, cuero, I got stuff to do! By the way, I take last night's devotion as a sign that you don't want to leave, yes?" – "I'm not leaving." I sat up to get closer to his ear. "I'm all yours, Vaas."  
Before answering, he clasped my head with his hands and looked me in the eyes, smiling. "Well, I lied to you. I would not have let you go. Couldn't have wasted you. You…" He did not finish his sentence. "What?" He stroked my face, then stood up. "Shower's in the back. Clothes –" He threw me a bunch of clothing. His smile came back. "Sorry for fucking your shirt up last night. I'll see you in the evening."

While I took a long, well-deserved shower, let the hot water run along my injured body, my thoughts went wild. I was disgusted with myself, disgusted with the fact that I adored Vaas, disgusted with him, I was satisfied from last night, the thought of the murder of my friends unspeakable pains through my body, had it really been the right choice? The egoistic choice, satisfying my fascination with the villain, not behaving morally correct, not dying or having him murder me aswell? Tears ran down my face. I felt responsible for their deaths. Why was it me, being still alive, why hadn't it been my fate aswell, being tortured and murdered? How could I adore, want Vaas so much when he had just brutally taken away all that I had left? How was I to ever live with all of this? With all these thoughts, all this guilt? I knew I would not find answers to any of these questions.  
The warm water helped a bit, it cleaned my felted hair and cleared away the dry blood all over my body. I stepped out of the shower cabin and examined myself in the dirty mirror that leaned against the wall. The wound on my temple seemed to have healed quite well already, the one on the back of my head was almost hidden behind my wet hair. My lips were cracked and a huge, now closed up flesh wound on my hip and one on my right rib cage, which had opened up throughout the events of the night, but somehow neither me, nor Vaas had noticed or cared. Bruises and hematomas covered my body; one ran along my left eye, countless were to be found on my chest and my right leg was pretty much one big blue bruise. Under my eyes, purplish-dark circles hinted at the lack of sleep I had been suffering. I was sore all over, but apart from that, I felt fine.  
I dressed in a white tank top and some jean shorts that fit me quite well. I wondered where Vaas had gotten these clothes from for a second, but then I decided not to think about it for a moment longer. I probably didn't want to know.  
As I stepped outside, the sun was shining in my face, warming my skin, making me feel a little bit better about this island. I decided to take a little walk through the village, where people were cooking, gossiping, hanging up laundry. It was located at a cliff, with a spectacular view over the sea and the seemingly endless jungle.  
"Ah, you're Emilia, no?" I heard a voice from behind me. I turned around. It was a woman, hispanic just like all the others around here, smiling friendly, and also a little bit curiously.  
"I am." – "I'm Camila. Welcome to our village, dear." She came closer and examined me. "Come, come inside my house. You're hurt, injured, no? You are badly injured. I'll fix you up. Tell you a bit about our beautiful island. Help you find your way. Yes?" I was hesitant at first, but then I slowly nodded and followed her into the house.  
I took a seat in the kitchen and Camila handed me a plate of some kind of stew that smelled just phenomenal. She sat down across the small table and watched me eat. "Dulce, chiquilla, it actually amazes me how you are here. It's a great burden to come here not knowing our ways. It's not easy, Vaas is not easy, I mean. You're brave. Not just a hostage." I looked up, into her friendly face. "Is that why I am still here?" – "Yes. He saw something in you. The spirit. You amaze him."  
I took a bite. "He amazes _me_." Camila nodded. "I know. You probably asked yourself why already, no? Vaas is a good guy. Really. He has his problems… as we all do. He's not had it easy in his life. He needs someone like you." She wasn't looking at me anymore. She looked worried, focused on some random spot on the table. "You're the first hostage he has not hurt. He's usually not as blatant with females, but it's been bad before. He's not under any control, not even his own control. With you, he gains a bit of it. Be patient with him." – "He kills people. Tortures them. It's fun to him." I said, and took a deep breath, as the memories of Vaas killing my friends came back. Camila gulped. "I didn't say his ways are understandable."  
When I was finished eating the delicious stew, she got out a little case of medical supplies and took a look at my wounds. "Could you lift up your shirt, dulce" she said and I rolled up my tank top, revealing the worst injuries I had on my body. Camila's face turned pale. "Los dios" she exclaimed quietly and started bandaging the flesh wound. "I suppose you're in great pain." – "It's okay" I answered, honestly. Camila looked up and placed her hand on my shoulder. "Truly a brave one. Brave soul. El hombre propone y Dios dispone."  
"What let Vaas get this way?" I asked Camila as we exited her house and went to sit down by the cliff. She took a deep breath. "That, Emilia, only he can tell you. What I know are just rumors, even though I have known him almost all his life. He's never told anyone the whole story, he never tells, not even how he got –" She stopped talking and gesticulated at her head, to hint at Vaas' most visible scar.

I spent the rest of the day with Camila, and she told me about the island, how Vaas had taken control over it, about the other "group", the Rakyat, fighting the Pirates and about Citra, their leader. She didn't know any details, as the pirate women were kept out of the fighting, but she gave me a general idea. It got later and later, and the sun went down as I heard a familiar voice yelling from inside the village. "You fuck! What do you think you're gonna do, cabrón? Kill me? Shut your fucking mouth or I'll cut you the fuck up!" We heard a man's voice screaming. I stood up. Camila grabbed my hand. "Don't go there." I took my hand out of hers. "I won't close my eyes and pretend like this isn't happening!" I said and made my way into the village, where the man was still screaming. It ended abruptly just before I could see what was happening: A man was lying on the floor, blood all over him, his throat cut. Next to him, Vaas just stood up and threw a machete on the ground. "Clean up this mess!" he yelled and kicked the body. "What about the other two?" said another pirate. "Hang them up, I'll get to them tomorrow." As the men carried away the dead man's body, Vaas looked up and saw me. He had some blood on his face – the man had put up a good fight. He began smirking at me and waved his hand to get me to come over to him. As I did so, he wiped across his face with the back of his hand. "That motherfucker. Good evening, you look muy caliente tonight." He noticed that I was looking at the bloodstain on the ground, the bloody machete, his bloody hands. "Come with me, cuero." I followed him to the opposite side of the village, a place I had never been before, and I could already hear screams and panting of pain. We entered a big tent. Inside, there were about ten people in handcuffs that were tied to the ceiling. Two pirates were hanging up a "new" one. It smelled horrible, and there was death in the air. In the back, a man was being tortured with an electric rod. He screamed for help desperately, and the pirate torturing him was laughing. "Ola, hermanos!" Vaas exclaimed. "How's it going?" I could not believe what I saw. This was so much worse than what had happened to me when I had been his hostage, and it probably was what had happened to my friends. Vaas approached one of the hostages, holding me close with one arm. "Steve! How are we today? I know, I haven't visited you in a long time, my friend. I want you to meet Emilia." Steve slowly lifted his head up. His eyes were very friendly, and at the sight of Vaas' arm around me, he flinched. "Run" he whispered. His whole body was beaten up. I stared at the hostage and a tear made it down my face. "Ah, you're funny today. You know, cuero, Steve here is the funniest of them all." – "Fuck you, you psycho!" Vaas took his arm off of me and stepped up to Steve. "What did you say, Stevie? You're making me very, very sad, amigo. I hate feeling sad." Without hesitating, he took his hands to Steve's leg and pressed his thumb into a hole where a bullet had hit him. The hostage was in horrible pain, I could tell from his desperate scream. I felt like I was going to be sick. "Vaas, stop" I said. But he did not listen to me. I grabbed his arm. "Stop!" One last push, and Vaas was done. "Alright, chica, alright. Steve has had enough for today. Getting stronger! I will make a man out of you, amigo, you just wait!" He punched him in the belly. I turned around, leaving the tent. Tears streamed down my face. Outside, I hid my face behind my hands. How was Vaas a good man? What could have made him this way? How could I be so fascinated with this monster?  
Vaas exited the tent behind me. He grabbed my hips from behind. "You okay, cuero?" I wiped off my tears. Still, his touch felt so good, it almost had me forgetting about what happened in the tent. "Why do you do that? How can you –" – "It is my job. Those people are going to be sold. Teaching them lessons is good. Makes them strong. Makes them obey. And makes me a rich man. Now, let's go, cuero. Enough of this bullshit."

This night, I decided to end the torture. I could not be responsible for all of those people's lives. My friends'. Steve's. How could I be happy with this guilt? All my horrible memories flashed back into my head, especially Maggie's disappointed face, the bullet hitting her forehead, her lifeless body sinking to the floor.  
Most of this night, I laid awake, trying to persuade myself into thinking I'd be able to kill Vaas. It would end this dirty business and free the hostages, wouldn't it? It would make up for him killing my friends, take away my guilt. Would I be able to live without him? Probably not. Losing him would hurt me most. He was all I had left, now, all I really cared about. Maybe that was my punishment for letting all of this happen. The island had already taken my sanity away. I had never killed anybody before. Yes, I had combat experience from training with my dad back in the day – but I had never learned to _kill _someone. Especially not someone I… I loved.  
Vaas laid next to me with his back turned to me. I held a knife in my hands, staring at it. It would be easy. Strike out, stab him. And then probably stab myself.  
I curled my arm around him, taking a deep breath. Tears ran down my face once again, as I gained some momentum and jabbed the knife in the direction of his heart.


	5. High off his love, drunk from his hate

**NOTES & REFERENCES: **Muhaha! What can I say. I hope I scared you just a little bit. Not that much to say, this time though. Of course, again, Peppermintcookz, shout out to you!

"And god knows I'm not dying but I breathe now  
And god knows It's the only way to heal now  
With all the blood I lost with you  
It drowns the love I thought I knew  
and this was the ecstasy of love forgotten  
And I'm thrown in the gunfire of empty bullets  
And my blood is all I see as you steal my soul from me."  
Ellie Goulding - My Blood

The title is a reference to the lyric "High off her love, drunk from her hate" from Eminem's part in I Love The Way You Lie.  
**  
Part 5: "High off his love, drunk from his hate"**

Vaas' strong arm rushed up and his hand clasped the sharp blade. Red liquid dripped down his arm. Paralyzed, I let go of the knife. "You stupid thing, you really thought I had not noticed you taking a fucking knife from my fucking kitchen?" Before I could react, he had turned around and had pushed me off the bed, pressing the bloody knife to my throat so hardly, it slightly cut my skin.  
"She tries to kill me. Ha! Why is it that you don't like about me, Emilia? It's my generosity with the hostages, huh? You don't like how I treat them? Oh, cuero, you should have seen what I did to your little friends!" He grinned at me. "What's wrong, Emilia, you're not so enthusiastic now! Come on, show me! Fuck, let's play!" He got up; throwing the knife in a random direction through the room, then yelled at me. "What now, cuero? Did you think you could outplay me like that? Can't decide, huh? If you want it that way, then kill me! Let's do some fucking Romeo and Juliet shit, I'm always up for it!" He stepped up to the door and exited the house, kicking over the kitchen table on his way.  
Still sitting on the floor, I pushed my head against the wall and clasped my throat. I could feel a small cut, nothing to worry about, and lots of Vaas' blood. Why had I done that? I couldn't have killed him. I needed him, which now was clearer than ever to me. I would have stopped the knife in time. Last night had been too much for me; the hostages, my memories, my allegations against myself. He was monstrous, sure, but I had known what I was in for.  
After about an hour of me just sitting there crying and desperately trying to think of a way to explain this to Vaas had passed, I stood up and went after him. I found him at the beach, sitting in the sand, just illuminated by the moon and the cigarette in his hand. I approached him very slowly. Vaas must have heard my footsteps in the sand, but he did not turn around. "Vaas, I- I don't know what to say." He put the cigarette to his mouth and inhaled before answering. "How about don't talk at all then."  
"I would not have been able to do it. I-" Vaas turned around to me, one finger placed to his lips. Then, he patted the sand next to him, as to make me sit with him. After I silently did so, he threw his cigarette into the clear, blue ocean, placed his head in my hair, on the back of my neck and pulled me closer. "Any other person, you hear me, _any_ other would be dead right now. I would have killed them on sight, without hesitation. Comprende, seniorita?" I nodded slowly. "I know." – "You – I know you better than you think, cuero. Stop feeling responsible for my shit. That is none of your fucking business. It is what happens on my island. You'll learn. Your friends are dead. There's just you left, you and me on this island."  
I took his hand, which he had cleaned in the ocean, and kissed the injured palm of it. "I'm so sorry." I whispered. "Regret is a bitch, azúcar." He came closer and our lips met. In an instant, he was on top of me, pinning my hands above my head. "And I certainly like a little challenge" Now, his smirk was back. He caressed the cut on my throat, still stained from his blood. After his rage, he suddenly was very calm, and in control again. I had thought that I had lost all his trust with my actions, but somehow Vaas understood my intentions, he knew what I felt. He knew I had nothing but him left. As I lay there, in the sand, and felt his skin on mine, his hot breath and his voice whispering my name, my world cleared up. All I felt was my fascination and lust for this man that had a Mr. Hyde inside of him.

The next day, when I stepped out of the house, I saw Vaas sitting in the sun with some of his men, discussing something. They were just finished when I joined them, and Vaas had a concerned look on his face. "What's wrong?" – "I realized something this morning. I have to teach you how to kill. Last night was a terrible attempt" He chuckled. "I want a serious enemy here."  
"I know how to defend myself." I said, not being sure what he intended to do. "Sure. That's why Stefano here had to a few days off work after we wheeled you in, cuero…" He pointed at a man sitting with the group. It was the one I had beaten to the ground back at our camp, just before I was taken hostage. "But he's still living, no?" The pirates around us started laughing. Stefano eyed me and said "Wasn't bad, chica."  
Vaas took me away from the men, into the jungle. He carried a sniper rifle and an assault rifle, in his hand he had a bottle of something of which I could not tell what it was. We didn't walk for long, when he stopped and finished the bottle. He went to place it on a tree trunk. "Bam. Your enemy, seniorita. I don't like this shit, anyway." The pirate took out his pistol and threw it over to me. I just caught it and took a deep breath. Vaas walked up to me and positioned himself behind me, his hands on mine, placing the gun into my hand and helping me aim. "Never shot a gun before, huh? A bottle is obviously muy different to a man" He was so close to me that his body touched mine and I felt his breath on my neck. I tried to steady my breath and focus on the shooting while he spoke into my ear quietly, but it was extremely hard. "Look at this. Unlock, aim…" I shot the pistol and the bottle in front of us burst into a million of little glass pieces. Vaas jumped and gave an outcry of admission. "That is my chica, todo el mundo! You're a fucking beast!" How did I just hit the target? I had no idea how my finger even pulled the trigger. I stood there, with the pistol in my hands and starred at the broken bottle. "Dang, girl, you turn me on." Vaas said, shook his head and replaced the pieces of glass that were still left on the log with an intact one that was a little smaller. "Show me that again, baby." This time he stayed where he was; right next to the log. He was enjoying himself like crazy. I took another deep breath, readied the weapon and the bullet hit the small bottle just seconds after I pulled the trigger for a second time.  
This day, I did not only learn how to fire weapons, he also showed me where to hit a person to kill him quicker, how you kill someone quietly and how to throw a knife effectively. I did quite well, but shooting still was the thing I did best. We stayed out in the forest for hours and his mood did not change. When the sun went down, I leaned against a tree and looked around me. I was ready to kill. What is a good or bad feeling? I had no idea what to think of myself now. "So, why did you really want me to learn this?" I asked. "You're badass now. You don't like it? Now, if some fucker tries to take you, you know how to take him out for good." Vaas came over to me.  
"Yeah. But who's going to try?" – "Oh, I had a little argument yesterday. No problem, we're powerful, but you know. Just in case, cuero. Might have a war on our hands. Don't worry, cuero."

We went back to the village and crashed in Camila's kitchen. When we arrived, Vaas kissed her on the forehead. I did not dare to ask, but they had to be close; I had never seen him do something like that to someone, and Camila had already told me she had known him for very long.  
The small woman had cooked up a delicious soup. We sat down in silence and ate, when suddenly, Vaas put his spoon down and looked up. He listened for a few seconds, and none of us dared to speak. "Fuck!" he rushed up from his chair, when a rocket hit the house next to us. "Camila, el escondite! Hide!" All three of us rushed out the door, Vaas pulled out his AK and ran directly into the direction the rocket had come from, and Camila dragged me in the opposite direction, down the dirt road, to the beach. We only had run a couple of meters, when one of the intruders spotted us and fired at us. He wasn't a very good shot, as most of his bullets hit the ground right to our feet. One of them streaked my arm and I squealed in pain. "How much further?" I yelled at Camila. "Not long, we'll be right –" A bullet hit Camila in the underbelly. She screamed, fell and blood started to cover the dirt. "Camila!"  
As quickly as I could, I helped her grab my shoulders and sustained her to crawl behind a near pile of boxes. The firing stopped. "No, no, no, shit!" I exclaimed as I ripped a piece of fabric from her long dress and pressed it onto her wound. "Camila! Camila, stay with me, look at me! Look at me!"  
"Dulce… You're a brave one." she whispered under her breath. "He likes you, you know. I see it in his eyes." – "Camila, don't speak. Breathe." Her eyes began to fade as she continued speaking. "You can make this island a better place, you are brave, Emilia. He trusts you." Desperately I tried to think of what to do. Vaas had taught me to kill people, not to save them; I knew basic first-aid, but that would not have helped the elderly woman. So I just sat on my knees beside her and pressed the fabric onto her underbelly.

Camila passed quickly. She was too old and weak to survive an injury like this. I stayed by her side until I realized I could not stay behind the boxes. It was a horrible hiding spot and the shooter knew where I was hiding. So I left Camila, holding my bleeding arm, having lost most of my hope.  
I ran around the house and took a glimpse into the village. Almost every single house was on fire, women were taken hostage and pirates and strangers fought with guns, knives and fists. It reminded me of the invasion of our camp back when we were just here on holiday, just worse. The strangers had to be the so-called Rakyat, the other group of the island, the pirates' enemies. Screaming filled the air, and the sound of an alarm was being heard. The streets were full of dead bodies; pirates, Rakyat, men and women. I hid in the bushes, and made my way back into the village. I knew Vaas wanted me to hide, but I could just not let this happen around me. It was so loud everywhere, but I still found it weird that I could not hear Vaas' voice.  
When I reached the center of the place, it suddenly got a little quieter. I could hear a clear, American voice yelling triumphantly. "Oh-oh, look who we caught a little unprepared!" Something was kicked and fell to the floor. The American started laughing. A Hispanic voice responded: "One more step, hermano, and I'll shoot you motherfucker, I'll blow your brains out!" I peeked around the corner. I saw a bunch of pirates on one side, aiming their weapons at some, also Hispanic, guys with readied weapons. In midst of them a white guy was aiming his pistol at… Vaas. He lay on the floor, unconscious. His body was beat up and bloody. What had they done to him?  
"What happens when I do this?" The American unlocked his gun. This is when I got out of my hiding spot and started running towards them. When I reached the shootout, I positioned myself right in front of Vaas' injured body. It was a reflex. The bullet hit my shoulder. It was a horrible pain and I started screaming, lost my ability to sit straight. My hand clasped to my shoulder, I sank to the ground. The American voice now had a surprised tone to it. "…Emilia?!"  
I looked up, directly into his face. Then I realized. It was Robert, a friend of Jon's. He had been staying with the group. I did not know him very well, but I recognized his face beneath the tan and all his tattoos. Those were new. "Robert" I muttered, still in pain. I could barely speak.  
"How are you still alive?! But most importantly, why are you taking a bullet for this psycho?!" I chuckled lightly. "I am still alive… because of this psycho."


	6. Hush baby, speak softly

**NOTES & REFERENCES: **Eyo! Sorry this took longer than usual. I'm struggling with writing as this is a very 'deep' chapter. I want to make sure I get everything right. We're approaching the finale, there's probably only gonna be 2 or 3 chapters more. I want to keep the story focused on the main aspects instead of drifting off.

Oh, and have you all watched the far cry experience on Youtube? It's brilliant. Lots of inspiration from there. AND Michael Mando - aw yeah.  
The title of this chapter is a lyric from 'Love The Way You Lie Part 2' by Rihanna and Eminem.

**Part 6 - Hush, baby, speak softly**

Robert and the other Rakyat laughed out loud. "Oh yeah? This man has killed all of your friends, Emilia. He has ruined your life, taken away everything you had, and you? You take a bullet for him? So, what, you're his girlfriend now?" I supported myself using my left lower arm, pressing it to the ground. My right arm was completely numb; useless. I did not answer him; I was too focused on the pain. "Hey!" Robert kicked my hip, causing me to roll over; I was now half on top of the still unconscious Vaas. "Oh, did I hurt you? Come on, Emilia. Get away from him. Come with us." – "How about you go fuck yourself" I muttered, now feeling incredibly dizzy, my vision blurry. I felt around for Vaas' weapon holster. "Hell! You're still a little firecracker."  
I found the holster, pulled out the pistol and aimed for Robert's chest. "You bet." His eyed widened a little. "Whoa, baby, keep it cool. You don't want to die, right?" He started chuckling. "You won't shoot me. I'll leave you be for a while, but I'll be back, Emilia, and trust me, if you don't want to come with me then, you will die. And your lover will, too." A hand gesture of his made all of the Rakyat men pull back and leave the scene. I heard motors starting and cars driving off. The other pirates came rushing over to us. "Are you okay, chica?" But I had already dropped the weapon and let the pain take over.

When I woke, I felt dizzy as hell. I wanted to lift my arm up to run my hand over my face, but it began to hurt crazily when I just moved one finger. I panted and let it be. Instead, I looked around the room. I was in Vaas' house, on his bed – the room was completely destroyed; most furniture was broken and no one had bothered to clean it up yet. As I turned my head a little, I saw Vaas sitting on a chair near the door, resting his head on his hands. "Hey" I said. He looked up. "Fuck, cuero, you're awake." – "I am indeed. You okay?" – "You're – you're asking me if_ I _am okay? You are fucking crazy. How did this happen, cuero? Did I not tell you to fucking stay out of my shit?" He kicked one of the already broken bottles on the ground. I sunk a little more into the pillow I was leaned on. "Damn it, Vaas, I saw them trying to kill you. What was I supposed to do? This is just… a little scratch. Don't worry." He stood up. "Oh, yeah. Sorry for misinterpreting. I didn't know if you would survive after they stitched you up, Emilia. You have no fucking idea, right? Just playing the fucking heroine, just like that, huh?" As he moved around, I could see countless scratches and cuts on his body, bruises, fading signs of the fight. "I pointed a gun at him, you know. I could have shot him." Vaas turned around and stepped to me. He crouched down and stroked my cheek. "Told you it's different than shooting bottles, no?" – "Vaas, I –" – "Hush. I don't want to hear it." He rested his head in my lap and it was quiet in the room for a few minutes. I softly ran along the scar on his head with my fingertips, those of the hand that was movable. Quietly, Vaas said: "I had been living here thinking that my sister was dead. Killed by fucking… whatever, you know. Rebels. She had been so sweet, a small, slim, beautiful girl, she had always been better than me, better at heart. One night, at the beach, a boat approached, she was in it. She was tattooed, she had grown up. She had warriors with her. She had formed an army. I said 'Citra, what has become of you'." I flinched at her name. Citra was Vaas' sister? "They all obeyed her like little puppies. She wanted to take the island, she wanted to take _my_ Island. She turned against me, against her own brother, she took out a knife and she fought me, she tried to kill me. I had a pistol aimed at her, but I could not shoot. I could not pull the fucking trigger, she was my family after all. She hauled off and… she hit the knife into my head. She took what was mine, then took off." When Vaas was finished, it was quiet around us again. I did not know what to say. Vaas had never opened up to me like that, and now I was startled at him talking about his past. He lifted his head up and looked at me. "Citra… she fucked me up. She's just like me, you know. Too much like me. Now it is between her and me, who kills who first. It's probably gonna be her, she is my fucking weakness. I didn't trust anyone since" – he took a little break – "except you. I'm going to make certain I won't lose the one person that has earned my trust. Okay?" I nodded hesitantly, speechless.  
It was like Vaas was numbed. He didn't tell more, but he didn't have to. He told me about the most painful experience of his life, and even more, he told me about his weakness. Up to this point, Vaas had never shown his vulnerable side to me and I had thought that he never would, eventhough I had sensed one deep inside of him. The whole rest of the night, Vaas lay next to me, the both of us barely speaking. At one point, I fell asleep, I still felt dizzy and my arm was numb.

I awoke when Vaas climbed over me to get out of the bed in the morning. The sun just came up and hit his half-naked body. Man, he had been beat up. There were cuts all over his body, next to old scars. I tried and sat up straight. My arm hurt like crazy. I groped at my shoulder and could clearly feel where the bullet had hit me through the bandage. I flinched in pain, but swung both legs out of the bed. Vaas turned around with a glass of water and two pills in his hands. He handed them over to me without a word. "What's this?" – "It gets rid of the pain for a while. I figured you didn't want to stay in bed again." He put on a shirt and his pants. "Right" I said and eyed the pills. Probably the best stuff I could get on this island, I thought while putting one on my tongue and gulping down some water. I put the other in my pocket, just in case the pain was to come back. I stood up. There was absolutely no way of moving my shoulder, or anything connected to it. "You good, seniorita?" I bit my tongue. "Yeah" Vaas started chuckling quietly. He handed me a clean, white tank top and winked at me. "Time to rock some Americano ass!"  
The pain started to ease when we exited the house. And then it hit me: Where there previously had been little houses, there was now a pile of ashes, in the background burnt trees. I clasped my hands over my mouth in shock. I had almost forgotten how bad it had gotten out here. Vaas, next to me, rubbed his hands together excitedly. "War time, boys!" Some pirates that were around helping to clean up the mess looked up and started muttering to one another. When he turned around to me, he was grinning, the insanity had him back. No sign of the vulnerable Vaas. "We are leaving in 30 minutes! Enough time to pack your toothbrushes, hermanos!" His hand slit through my hair to the back of my neck and he kissed me. "I'll go burn up some villages. See you tonight, cuero!" And he was off like a little boy to the playground.


	7. Twisted Logic

**NOTES & REFERENCES:** For everyone that speaks Spanish around here, I have to apologize. :p I got a comment from **KatanaNightengale** (shout out to you! Thanks a bunch for reviewing) saying that "cuero" also meant slut in Spanish! Oh my! I did not intend to have Vaas call Emilia a slut all the time, although I kinda like the idea of him doing it affectionately… As I said, when I first used it I thought it meant something like beauty. Neither I nor Emilia speak Spanish, so she would not know what he calls her anyway. I guess the translation is up to you, dear readers! :) Interpret it as you like!  
Man, I love Vaas. I can never go back now! I'm hooked. Don't you worry, I got plenty of ideas for other stories with him after I finish Oxymoron.  
'Twisted Logic' is a song by Coldplay.

**Part 7 - Twisted Logic**

I stood there staring after him for a while. The pirates around me left one at a time and suddenly I was alone in the village. Slowly, I made my way through it, heading for the beach. Most of the houses were destroyed or burned down. The pirates must have had a hard time burying all the corpses, all the people they had lost during the attack. I thought of Camila and sighed. She had been the last one to deserve to die. I sat down in the sand, where Vaas and I had been sitting that one night and took a look over the sea and the island. It was rather funny how I ended up here, where I was right now, with a fractured shoulder, a heart on fire and a confused mind. I was so deep into my thoughts, that I hadn't noticed anything going on around me. That was when a dirty hand clasped over my mouth from behind and another pair of hands grasped my wrists together. Around me, there were a bunch of Rakyat – their weapons clicking - and, of course, Robert. My eyes widened at the sight of them.  
"Good morning! I decided not to kill you right away. I suppose you still don't want to join us on the good side?" The warrior removed his hand from my mouth. "Fuck you" I said and stared into his face provocatively. I tried to get out of the warrior's grasp, but it was impossible due to my shoulder. The fact that he was holding my arm in an unnatural way already brought the sharp pain back.  
"Okay, then I'm not gonna leave you a choice. I'm taking you anyway." The Raykat started moving, including the one behind me, and forced me to stand up. "Come on!"

Being held hostage by the Rakyat was different than being taken by Vaas. Maybe it was because now, I had experience with torture and hostages, that I wasn't as scared about what would happen to me. Vaas had toughened me. In the Rakyat village, they sat me down on a chair in a small house, similar to the ones the pirates lived in, and tied me to it. Robert was right in front of me, showing off his authority by sending the warriors away and positioning his face close to mine. "Now, we just wait for your boyfriend to notice you're gone…" He laughed. "It'll be so easy to slaughter him. You know, most people are scared of Vaas. They say he's a twisted monster. And you? You're fucking him just like that? I don't remember you being so slutty." His lips were dangerously close to mine as he spoke. "Can't blame him. I always thought you were hot." That was when he took my head in his hands and pressed his lips to mine. I felt his tongue touch my lips, trying to get me to open my mouth to let it inside. I was so disgusted by this situation that I took his bottom lip between mine and bit into it as hardly as I could. A peace of his flesh came off and he immediately stopped the kiss, and instead squealed in pain, his hands to his mouth. In seconds, blood was dripping down them. As for me, I spit out the peace of his lip, my mouth equally as bloody as his. I continued spitting out his blood, when he came raging at me and pressed his thumb to my fractured shoulder, to the exact spot where the bullet had hit me. Here, not even the pain pill could ease the horrible pain that ran through my arm and chest. I cried out in pain. As he yelled at me, little spits of blood hit my face. "You think you can fuck with me, Emilia!? You think you are tough because this motherfucker fucks you?! I'll kill you both!" When Robert had enough, he kicked over the chair I sat on. My head hit the hard floor. He left the room. The pain in my shoulder was still present and I had a hard time remaining conscious. I started rubbing my wrists to the stone floor, hoping to roughen up the string I was tied with. The movement hurt like crazy, but I had to get out of this, get out of the village, before Vaas and the others would start a massacre, but it was hopeless. The rope was too thick and the floor wasn't rough enough. How would Vaas ever find me here? To this thought I fell into the void of unconsciousness that I had fallen into way too much on this island already.

"Hey, wake up. Wake up!" I opened my eyes and saw a man – definitely Rakyat, tanned, wearing several necklaces and sunglasses – shake me, cautiously. "Come on. It's almost time" – "For what?" I muttered, still incredibly exhausted from being unconscious for several hours. The man untied me from the chair and made me get up. "Where are you taking me?" I asked while he grabbed my arm and dragged me out the door. I was still dizzy and not entirely okay to walk. "Stop talking so much, Emilia. You should have a little more respect for my people. The Rakyat are the good ones here, not Vaas and his men." I chuckled under my breath. "He's going to come hunt you down." – "We will see. We'll see how much you're worth to him. You'll be surprised. Come on, walk faster."  
My wrists were still tied behind my back, which was a painful position. I gasped for air as the warrior dragged me along faster. The little Rakyat village wasn't much different from the one Vaas and the other pirates lived in. Small houses, roads of dirt, the jungle all around. We came to a slightly bigger house. The warrior turned to me and looked me in the eyes. "Now listen to me. You're going to behave now, or this is your end. I'm going to cut you into pieces if you try something. Okay?" As a response, I nodded slowly. What was inside of this house that was so important?  
We entered the house, and I found myself in a big room. In the middle of it, with its back turned to me, was a comfortable-looking chair with a woman on it. I could not make out her features yet. Next to her stood two men that were definitely warriors, but they didn't look like the ordinary ones around the village. They looked like they were special somehow. "Here she is." Said the man behind me, pushing me to my knees. The woman stood up and slowly turned around. She came around the chair and the men with elegant, oscillating movements. She was beautiful. Her body and face were tattooed, wore her long hair in dreadlocks that were tied back and she had piercing green eyes. For clothing, she wore a very short leather skirt and a matching top, enormous jewelry and she smiled at me. "Ah, you must be Emilia. One hears a lot about yourself on this island, you know?" The way she spoke reminded me of Vaas. It was the same accent, just a little more elegantly pronounced. I gasped. "You're Citra." I said, breathless. I didn't think to meet her. Anything, but her. "Ah, I see, you have heard about me too." She came closer and put her hand to my chin, lifting my head up. "I see you're beautiful. No wonder. My brother likes only the finest…" She started laughing. "Look at you!" She took a step back. "Good grief. What happened to you? Must have had a hard time. Dennis" she turned to the Rakyat warrior that had brought me there. "Leave us alone. You two" – she now spoke to her two bodyguards – "you go with him. Go on." Dennis flinched and began: "But Citra –" Citra started to laugh. "Oh, Dennis, don't worry! Now go!"  
When the men had left the room, Citra untied me and helped me up. "I don't think you have to be tied up. It's just a talk!" I massaged my hurting arm. "What do you want from me?" – "Oh, I just wanted to meet the woman that has finally gotten into Vaas' heart. Most women he just discards after a night with him." – "How would you know?" – "Well, Emilia, I might not have seen Vaas in a while but he is still my brother. I know his ways. We might meet soon! I'm sure he's going to visit, now that you're here!" I looked at the floor and didn't say anything. What was I supposed to say to her? Citra started swinging around the room. "I heard people call you brave. Is that true, Emilia? Are you brave, like a warrior?" I looked up. My eyes followed her steps. "That depends." Citra suddenly stopped and looked at me again. "Oh, yes. I get it. You like to fight for your little friends, for your loved ones. For my brother, I heard about that. Brave… Well, you know, that habit can easily grow into a big, big problem for you." I stared back into her face. "I'd rather die for Vaas than just sitting there letting someone take him from me."  
The Rakyat lady started chuckling once again, but this time it was an evil laugh instead of her usual, kind of ironic, charming chuckle. It sent a chill down my spine, and I knew me and Vaas were in serious danger.


	8. No light in your bright blue eyes

**NOTES & REFERENCES:** This is the last chapter of Oxymoron. It's very dramatic, but I hope you like it. I'm sorry! It makes me a little sad, having written the ending. Writing this story has taken up a lot of my free time and it was so much fun. But oh well! I just got Resident Evil 6, and that is going to be my main occupation now, as well as exams. I'm graduating this year. Let me know what you think of the ending!  
**Acid Rain2345**, thanks so much for reviewing.  
The upper title is a quote taken from Florence + The Machine's song "No light, no light", the second one is a quote from Vaas in Far Cry 3 (in the scene where he tries to burn Jason and Liza).

**No light, no light in your bright blue eyes.  
"Jason, I swear to god man, it's truly beautiful that you are willing to die for the one you love."**

Just as I had finished my thought, the door flew open and Dennis entered the room. "Citra! Vaas is here with about 50 men" he panted, breathlessly. "What are we going to do?" Citra went to join him at the door. "Bring her back to the shed. Make sure he doesn't find her, Dennis, you hear me?" Just as I wanted to protest and start running and dashing myself out of this situation, Dennis had grabbed me and dragged me along. "He is going to kill you, Citra! He will send a bullet through your brain, just like you deserve it!" I yelled, but Citra just laughed. Dennis was strong. I was injured, but still, I was not making it easy for him. I was yelling, stemming myself into the ground, trying to hit him – he was still quietly dragging me. Whatever Citra said, it was his duty. Dennis completely obeyed Citra, it was almost scary.  
We reached the little shed I had been in before meeting Citra. Dennis jostled me into it – I fell on my shoulder and squealed in pain - and followed; he closed the door and came over to me. "Listen to me now, Emilia, and listen closely; if Citra doesn't kill Vaas, I am going to do it. If he comes here, I am going to place a bullet in his head. You are not going to jeopardize that, you hear me?" He kicked me a few times and went to sit down on the chair I had been tied to before. "I don't get you, you're a young, strong, beautiful woman. What do you see in this monster?" – "Fuck you and all your people" I muttered. Dennis shut up and started fingering at his necklaces.

It felt like hours that I lay on the floor in the shack and tried to figure out how to get out of there and find Vaas. I could not let him come across Citra – she was his weakness and she would kill him. I was sure of that. I had managed to sit up and lean against the wall now. I surveyed Dennis – he didn't look like much of an opponent, but I knew that he was strong from before. Then – all of a sudden, I heard a familiar voice, a voice I had been longing to hear for what felt like an eternity. Vaas'. "Dennis you little fucker! Come on out, let's play! You wanna fight for Citra like a little puppy, huh?" I jumped to my feet, but Dennis already was by my side and held a knife to my throat – just as the shed door was kicked open and Vaas entered the small room. "Vaas!" I cried out. At the sight of me, Vaas gave a little smirk, and started chuckling when he saw the Rakyat hold me. "Good evening, cuero. Hermano – you better let the lady go, or I will fucking cut your guts to pieces and feed them to my men!"  
Dennis took a second, then started: "For Cit-", but before he could start cutting me, Vaas had already shot the warrior in the chest. He sank to the floor, pulling me with him. I chocked under the heaviness of the knife and his arm to my throat. Now, the pirate leader was chuckling even more. "Fucking fool!" He helped me out of Dennis' grip and I could not help it and threw my arms around him. Caught off guard, he loosened my arms from his neck, looked at me for a second and pressed his lips to mine, starting a passionate kiss. I clasped my hands to his head once again and shut my eyes. It felt so good being back with him, I did not ever want to stop. The passion overcame me, and I pressed myself closer to his body. With another chuckle, Vaas stopped me. "Save it for later, chica. I have to get you out of here. It is a fucking war zone." He took the knife and an assault rifle from Dennis and handed them to me. "You are going to run to the south entrance of this fucking excuse for a village. Someone comes, you shoot. Yes, cuero? You need to drive back to my village. Hide there. Comprende?" I shook my head in disbelief. "I'm staying with you. You can't come across Citra." – "I need to end this here, you hear me?" I gasped for air at the thought of Vaas meeting Citra, but then I nodded. "Okay."  
Vaas gave me another kiss, kicked Dennis' lifeless body and sent me on my way.  
I ran as fast as I could, trying to outrun my thoughts. I could not help Vaas in this situation. He was right – he had to end this, and only he could do it. Right in front of me, a Rakyat warrior appeared out of nowhere, and started to ready his weapon, aiming at me. Without hesitation, I shot him in the chest with Dennis' assault rifle. I stopped running, surprised by my own cruelness. It had been a reflex, I had just taken the life of an innocent warrior without even thinking about it. I had killed a man. I started panting, let my thoughts run wild for a moment.

This was when a sharp pain hit my side and had me fall to the ground, letting go of the rifle. It was the worst pain I ever felt, much worse than the bullet that had hit my shoulder, worse than being hit and kicked by any pirate I had come across. Both my hands clasped to where the pain had its offspring; my side. Blood spilled from the wound and covered the ground in red liquid.  
From far away, I could hear Vaas' voice screaming, raging – or was it just in my mind? – and Citra yelling in Spanish. My vision went blurry, but I managed to look up to find out who had been responsible for this horrible pain that I felt. Slowly, behind a sniper rifle, Robert's face came into the picture. He was smiling, and poked me with the rifle. "Gotcha" he said, slowly. Panting, I tried to reach my weapon, but it was too far away and would have also been too heavy. "You fucking monster" I brought myself to say under my breath. Robert laughed triumphantly. "Do you know that Citra is killing her brother at this very moment, sweetheart? Kinda sad, really." That was when I thought of the knife that I had hidden in my boot. I pulled it out, as Robert spoke and with all the strength and force I could channel, I stabbed Robert's ankle, so that he fell. Now, he squealed in pain. "Emilia!" Strengthened by the thought of Vaas, I pushed myself up and stabbed the knife into Robert's chest repeatedly. I stopped when I was sure he wasn't breathing anymore, then I let myself fall back. "VAAS" I started screaming as loudly as I could. I was not going to die alone. Al I could think of was dying, as my body cramped. "VAAS!" I yelled couple of times before I was too weak to bring out a tone. Instead, I tried to steady my breathing and hold my eyes open. "Citra!" I heard someone yell, and a couple of moments later I heard footsteps near me. "Cuero!" It was Vaas. Just a moment later, I felt his burning touch on my skin as he turned me and took me into his strong arms. "Emilia. You hear me? Cuero, it's okay, stay with me, comprende?" I forced my eyes to stay open and looked into his flawless face. I saw him look at Robert's dead body, and noticing the bloody knife in my hand. Vaas tore apart my bloodstained shirt and pressed the fabric to the wound. "What – what about Citra?" I brought myself to say. "It's over, cuero, don't worry about her." My lips formed something similar to a smile. It got harder and harder to hold open my eyes. I heard more footsteps as more pirates approached. "Cuero. Stay awake, yes? Hold open those beautiful eyes, understand? Don't give in." I could not help it. By now, all I could see of Vaas' face was a blurry, black and white silhouette. It faded. I faded.

* * *

"Emilia! Cuero! EMILIA" Vaas was yelling at the young woman in his arms, whose body hung loose from his grip. Her face was pale and her eyes lifelessly staring nowhere. More and more blood spilled from the huge wound on her side and wet Vaas' already red tank top. He grasped even harder around her. Despaired, he yelled: "Cuero, come on! Wake up!" He hesitated for a second, then started chuckling. "Ah, cuero. You're playing fucking games with me, huh? It's not funny! Come on, quit!" He shook Emilia lightly, then shook his own head and felt for her pulse. "No. Emilia! Wake the fuck up!" The pirate started a cardiac massage, pressing his lips to hers and breathed air from his lungs into hers, but it was hopeless, the American was dead.  
It felt like a decade that Vaas sat there holding Emilia, resting his head to hers, whispering something so quietly, no one could understand it except him, breathing heavily, panting. But then, suddenly, he laid her lifeless body down and jumped up, grabbing a random pirate that stood around. Vaas took him by the back of his head, dragged him to a nearby stone house and started smashing his head against the wall. Blood covered the pirate, the wall and Vaas' arm, but he didn't stop. The pirate was too perplexed to do anything except screaming for help; and the others did not dare to interrupt their leader's rage. When Vaas let go of him, the warrior was unconscious already.  
Looking a little calmer, Vaas turned around and took Emilia's body in his arms again. "Bring me a shovel, you fuck" he ordered, looking at a young pirate, who immediately sprinted to get a shovel. "And then don't you dare come near me." He carried the body cautiously through the village. No one fought or shot their guns anymore, not even the villagers that lived there. He reached the vehicle that was parked outside the south entrance, where the young man was already waiting with a shovel. The pirate leader placed it in the back of the pick-up truck and drove off in the direction of his village and the beach that belonged to it. All alone, at the beach, just where he used to sit with her, Vaas started to dig a grave for Emilia. He took his time. It would be the first and the last woman after his sister that he was willing to die for. He had failed. And now he buried his vulnerability along with Emilia's body.

**Author's Note:** So.. yeah. That's it. Emilia is dead. I just had to kill her, she would not have survived under the circumstances of the island anyway. If you have questions, tips or just want to chat you can gladly leave me a review or send me a private message. I love chatting with you guys! Until then... Bye-bye. Ta-ta. Don't forget to tune in for daily tortures.


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